BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


TILED  ROOFS;  THE  KIND  OF  BUILDINGS  TO 
WHICH  THEY  ARE  SUITED  AND  A  METHOD 
OF  CONSTRUCTION  THAT  MAKES  THEM 
PRACTICAL  AS  WELL  AS  PICTURESQUE:  BY 
ARTHUR  JEROME  EDDY 


•pHE  art  of  building  began  with  the  roof.  The  first 
rude  shelter  was  all  roof  and  no  walls;  the  modern 
"skyscraper"  is  all  walls  with  a  minimum  of  roof. 
With  the  development  of  higher  and  higher  struc 
tures,  the  aesthetic  importance  of  the  roof  becomes 
of  less  and  less  importance,  until  on  the  twenty- 
story  building  it  is  often  practically  flat  and  entirely 
hidden  from  observation  below,  therefore  it  is  treated  in  the  most 
practical  and  prosaic  manner. 

Where,  however,  the  buildings  are  low,  the  roof  expanse  is  of 
the  very  first  importance;  the  most  conspicuous  feature,  which,  if 
visible  from  afar  long  before  the  walls  are  distinguishable,  either 
adds  to  or  detracts  from  the  landscape  and  may  be  harmonious  with 
its  surroundings  and  beautiful,  or  utterly  incongruous  and  ugly, 
quite  irrespective  of  the  manner  in  which  the  walls  are  treated. 
On  approaching,  the  walls  loom  up  as  the  roof  disappears  from  the 
line  of  vision.  Theoretically,  a  perfect  building  ought  to  appear 
at  its  best  from  a  point  where  the  eye  can  take  in  both  roof  and 
walls  in  something  like  equal  proportions;  if  to  enjoy  the  roof  in 
its  construction,  lines  and  color,  it  is  necessary  to  remain  so  far 
away  that  the  walls  are  indistinguishable,  the  building,  as  an  entirety, 
is  aesthetically  imperfect. 

In  happy  combination  of  roof  and  wall,  of  sky  and  earth  line, 
the  genius  of  man  has  never  wrought  anything  more  perfect  than 
the  Gothic  cathedral;  notwithstanding  its  great  height,  the  roof  is 
visible  both  far  and  near;  to  the  distant  wayfarer  it  is  the  most 
impressive  feature  of  the  landscape,  to  the  close  observer  it  is  a 
source  of  endless  delight.  For  in  its  day  and  generation  and  to  meet 
the  needs  and  aspirations  of  its  builders,  nothing  finer  or  more  per 
fect  could  be  devised  or  imagined, — but  its  reproduction  at  the 
present  time  is  an  anachronism  and  a  confession  of  weakness.  A 
temple  or  a  cathedral  which  is  beautiful  in  its  surroundings  and 
for  its  own  purpose,  may  be  very  incongruous  and  ugly  in  ours. 

To  secure  this  fine  proportion  between  roof  and  wall,  it  is  obvious 
that  with  every  increase  in  the  height  of  the  building  there  must  be 
an  even  greater  increase  in  the  pitch  of  the  roof.  To  make  the 

1 80 


METHOD     OF     LAYING     A     ROOF 
WITH     SMALL    MISSION    TILES. 

AN      ADOBE      BUILDING      RE 
QUIRES      A      MASSIVE      ROOF. 


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AN    OLD    MISSION    TILED    ROOF   I 
TO     THE     DESTRUCTION      OF     TIM 

THE    OLD    TILES    ARE    ILL    AT    EA: 
NEAR     A     SMOOTH       MODERN     ROC 

SHOWING     THE     IRREGULARITY    ' 
THE     OLD     HAND-MADE     TILES. 


TILED  ROOFS  FOR  MODERN  BUILDINGS 

roof  of  the  modern  steel  office  building  visible  from  the  narrow 
surroimding  streets  is  practically  an  impossibility,  the  aesthetic 
problem  presented  is  fundamentally  different  from  anything  here 
tofore  attempted  and  therefore  all  the  more  worthy  of  solution,  for 
there  are  great  possibilities  of  perfection  and  beauty  inherent  in 
steel  construction.  These  possibilities  do  not,  however,  lie  along 
the  lines  of  superficial  imitation,  but  in  a  frank  recognition  of  and 
submission  to  twentieth  century  needs  and  conditions.  However, 
these  considerations  are  aside  from  the  present  discussion,  which 
has  to  do  with  the  roofs  of  low  buildings,  with  roofs  which  are  and 
must  be  visible,  and  which  should  be  the  most  beautiful  wherever 
they  are  the  most  conspicuous  features  of  the  structures. 

The  lower  the  building,  the  more  important  the  covering, — a 
proposition  so  true  and  trite  that  it  is  habitually  ignored  in  practice. 
Architects  exhaust  their  ingenuity — and  their  libraries — in  designing 
buildings  more  or  less  attractive  in  every  detail  except  the  roof, 
that  is  treated  as  immaterial;  it  is  left  to  the  client  to  say  whether 
he  will  cover  with  shingles,  slate,  tile,  or  tin,  the  decision  nine  times 
out  of  ten  turning  on  the  sole  consideration  of  economy.  No  one  is 
expected  to  look  at  the  roof,  if  people  do,  it  is  an  impertinence; 
yet  the  roof  is  to  a  low  building  what  a  very  large  hat  is  to  a  very 
short  woman, — it  makes  all  the  difference  in  the  world  whether 
or  no  it  is  becoming. 


EVERY  variety  of  architecture  has  its  appropriate  roof;  in 
fact,  architectural  varieties  may,  very  likely  should,  be 
differentiated  by  their  roofs; — arch  and  lintel,  those  two 
fundamental  variations  in  structure,  are  but  roof  or  covering  varia 
tions.  The  first  problem  in  building  is  how  to  cover  space — 
shelter ;  the  second  is  how  to  enclose  space — protection ;  the  latter  tends 
to  assume  more  massive  and  permanent  proportions  wherever  the 
assaults  of  man  are  more  destructive  than  the  ravages  of  the  weather. 

In  Oriental  countries  and  in  all  portions  of  Europe  where  native 
architecture  prevails,  the  roofs,  whether  of  thatch,  shingles  or  tile, 
first  attract  the  attention  of  the  traveler.  One  has  but  to  pause  a 
little  way  off,  to  realize  how  much  of  the  charm  of  the  distant  hamlet, 
with  church  or  temple  in  its  midst,  is  due  to  the  roofs,  and  how 
little,  comparatively  speaking,  is  due  to  the  walls  which  are  scarce 
risible. 

The  modern  city  may  be  judged,  and  judged  very  correctly, 
by  its  conglomeration  of  heterogeneous  roofs.  In  the  selection  of  a 


TILED   ROOFS  FOR   MODERN   BUILDINGS 

roof  for  his  house  a  man  should  display  some  of  the  taste  he  exhibits 
in  the  choice  of  a  hat;  he  would  not  make  the  mistake  of  wearing  a 
"tile"  with  a  white  duck  suit,  or  a  straw  hat  with  a  fur  coat,  so 
no  one  with  any  sense  of  the  eternal  fitness  of  things  would  mount 
a  heavy  Mission  tile  on  walls  of  shingles  or  clap-boards;  per  contra, 
while  it  is  only  too  commonly  done  for  sake  of  economy,  no  one 
who  is  striving  to  do  a  good  thing  would  think  of  covering  with 
light,  machine-cut  shingles  a  low  house  of  massive  proportions,  the 
walls  of  which  are  of  adobe,  concrete  or  plaster. 

Shingles  on  top  of  brick  are  so  common  that  they  pass  unnoticed, 
but  they  make  a  rather  airy  covering  for  heavy  walls;  gray  slate  is 
much  more  appropriate,  and  tile  goes  well  with  certain  shades  of 
brick,  providing  the  walls  give  the  impression  of  solidity  and  strength. 

In  Southern  California  all  sorts  and  kinds  of  architecture  are 
to  be  seen.  This  is  due  partly  to  the  climate,  which  not  merely 
permits,  but  invites,  experiments  in  every  direction,  and  poor  build 
ing  is  not  punished  by  severe  cold  and  snow.  It  is  also  due  to  the 
in-rush  of  people  from  every  quarter  of  the  globe  who  have  their 
own  notions  regarding  the  houses  they  want. 

Each  style  of  building  brings  along  its  own  roof,  with  a  stranger 
or  two  for  the  sake  of  company.  No  sooner  located — never  really 
acclimated — -these  various  styles  of  architecture,  instead  of  keeping 
each  its  own  appropriate  covering,  begin  to  exchange  roofs,  with 
results  which  are  startling. 

OF  THE  roofings  in  use  those  most  commonly  seen  are :  Fibre— 
Water-proofed  paper,  and  tarred  or  asphalted  felt  of  many 
makes  and  varying  thicknesses.  These  materials,  when  well 
made  and  well  laid,  make  cheap,  serviceable  roofs  for  sheds,  ware 
houses,  factories,  etc.,  buildings  which  conform  frankly  to  their 
uses  and  wherein  no  attempt  is  made  to  secure  aesthetic  results. 
Curious  effects  are  secured  by  shaping  the  heavy  asphalted  felt  in 
large  rolls  over  wood  along  the  ridges,  ends  and  eaves,  and  on  first 
impression  when  the  paper  is  new  and  gray  in  tone,  the  eye  is  made 
tojbelieve  the  covering  is  of  lead  or  other  metal,  but  these  more  or 
less  fantastic  experiments  serve  in  the  long  run  to  direct  the  attention 
to  the  fact  that  the  roofing  is,  after  all,  only  paper.  As  the  sun 
brings  the  tar  or  asphalt  to  the  surface,  the  true  character  is  evident. 
Metal — Tin  and  galvanized  iron  pressed  into  various  and  more 
orlless  fantastic  shapes.  These  roofs  are  also  serviceable  for  the 
same  class  of  buildings,  and  they  possess  the  advantage  of  resisting 

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TILED  ROOFS  FOR   MODERN  BUILDINGS 

fire.  But  when  the  metal  is  pressed  into  the  shape  of  tile  and  painted 
a  dull,  dirty  red,  the  roof  is  ugly;  it  is  neither  good  tile  nor  honest 
metal,  but  a  hybrid  of  no  parentage.  A  tile  roof  speaks  for  itself, 
but  for  the  metal  imitation  of  tile  no  good  word  can  be  said. 

Wood — Shingles,  the  ordinary  machine-made,  excellent  in  their 
place  on  houses  of  which  the  construction  is  such  as  to  permit  of 
nothing  heavier.  As  dwellings  of  this  class  are  in  the  great  majority, 
shingles  are  in  common  use.  "Shakes,"  the  long,  split,  red-wood 
"shakes"  which  warp  and  curl  more  or  less  to  the  weather  are  ex 
ceedingly  effective;  incomparably  more  effective  than  shingles  where- 
ever  the  balance  of  the  construction  is  in  keeping.  They  are  thirty- 
six  inches  long  by  six  inches  wide,  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick, 
and  are  commonly  laid  sixteen  inches  to  the  weather.  "Shakes" 
may  even  be  used  in  place  of  tiles  where  shingles  would  look  too 
light  and  cheap.  The  great  length  of  the  "shake"  together  with 
its  warp  and  curl  to  the  weather,  produce  delightful  lines  and 
shadows.  The  sawed  "shake"  is  inferior  in  every  way. 

Mineral — Slates  are  used,  but  not  to  any  great  extent  on  dwellings. 
A  gray-blue  slate  is  not  cheerful,  but  in  a  gray  northern  climate  it 
goes  well  with  the  common  red  brick;  it  has  no  place  on  the  adobe 
or  plaster  walls  of  California  buildings  which  demand  color.  The 
red  slate  is  low  in  color  value,  flat  and  stiff  in  effect;  in  short,  it  is 
neutral  where  tile  is  positive.  There  is  little  that  is  attractive  in  a 
broad  expanse  of  slate  roof  under  California  sunshine,  while  if  laid 
in  patterns  of  red  and  gray  it  is  positively  ugly. 

TILE,  when  properly  formed,  baked  and  laid  on  any  structure 
rightly  designed  to  carry  it,  is  the  most  beautiful  roof  cover 
ing  yet  devised,  but  when   not   properly   formed,  baked    and 
laid,  or  laid  on  buildings  for  which  it  is  not  rightly  intended,  tile  may 
be  not  only  the  ugliest,  but  the  least  serviceable  of  coverings. 

Four  hundred  and  thirty  years  ago  it  was  provided  by  law  in 
England  that  for  the  making  of  tiles  "clay  should  be  dug  before 
November,  and  be  stirred  and  turned  before  March,"  and  to-day 
the  very  old  tile  is  considered  much  better  than  the  new.  The 
same  care  is  not  taken  in  turning  out  the  commercial  tile  in  use  at 
the  present  time.  A  good,  hard-burnt  tile  lasts  indefinitely;  a  thing 
of  beauty,  it  comes  very  near  being  a  joy  forever;  it  is  delightful  in 
color,  charming  in  form,  and  useful  in  service.  A  poor  tile  has  little 
to  recommend  it.  The  hard-burned  tile  is,  comparatively  speaking, 
impervious  to  moisture,  while  those  half  baked,  out  of  poor  clay,  not 

187 


TILED  ROOFS  FOR  MODERN  BUILDINGS 

only  absorb  moisture,  but  in  a  damp  climate  grow  a  luxuriant  crop  of 
vegetation,  which  may  be  very  picturesque  on  out-buildings  where  dry- 
ness  is  not  a  prime  essential,  but  not  altogether  desirable  on  a  dwelling. 

The  Mission  fathers  no  doubt  followed  the  ancient  custom  of 
kneading  or  working  the  clay  in  pits  under  the  hoofs  of  animals,  then 
giving  it  time  to  ferment  properly.  The  tiles  were  probably  made 
by  spreading  the  right  quantity  of  clay  on  a  board  or  flat  surface, 
patting  it  to  a  cake  of  the  right  thickness  and  size,  then  deftly  flopping 
it  over  a  half-round  piece  of  wood  which  was  first  well  sanded  so 
the  clay  would  not  adhere.  The  clay  was  pressed  and  shaped  to 
the  form  by  hand,  trimmed  about  the  edges,  dried  in  the  sun,  and 
fired  more  or  less  perfectly  in  small  kilns.  The  pressure  of  the 
hand  gave  the  tile  a  consistency  and  a  surface  which  machine-made 
tiles  lacked.  The  latter  are  more  or  less  porous. 

The  quality  of  the  tile  differed  with  the  clay  of  different  localities, 
and  with  the  care  and  skill  of  the  makers.  Some  are  soft  and  very 
irregular,  others  are  comparatively  hard  and  true.  Throughout  the 
Southwest  a  great  variety  of  clay  is  found,  from  the  sticky  adobe, 
which  is  little  more  than  a  tenacious  mud  in  places,  to  fine  potter's 
clay.  The  Mission  builders  took  their  clay  as  they  found  it  and 
made  the  best  of  it.  Transportation  was  too  difficult  in  those  days  for 
them  to  seek  and  develop  the  finer  deposits. 

&M*The  thickness,  size  and  irregularities  of  these  old  tiles  and  the 
marks  of  the  hand  which  shaped  them  are  fairly  well  indicated  in 
the  different  illustrations.  The  dimensions  of  those  shown  are: 
length,  twenty- three  inches;  width  of  broad  end,  twelve  inches; 
width  of  narrow  end,  eight  inches;  depth,  four  and  one-half  at 
end,  diminishing  to  three  and  one-half  at  narrow;  thickness  varied 
from  three-eighths  to  three-fourths  of  an  inch.  There  are  no  holes 
for  nails  or  other  fastenings.  Neither  are  the  corners  clipped  to 
economize  in  laying.  It  is  a  delight  to  caress  these  old  tiles  just 
as  it  is  a  delight  to  pass  one's  hand  over  a  piece  of  fine  pottery,  for, 
after  all,  the  fingers  appreciate  good  modeling  better  than  the  eyes. 
No  one  cares  to  handle  machine-made  tiles;  they  are  lacking  in 
interest  because  devoid  of  character;  they  have  never  associated 
with  human  beings  on  terms  of  intimate  and  friendly  companionship. 

The  manner  of  laying  these  old  tiles  is  well  shown  in  several 
of  the  illustrations.  The  bed  of  mud  or  adobe  over  the  thick  matting 
of  brush  on  the  irregular  round  rafters  made  a  soft  and  yielding 
foundation  for  the  tile.  The  unequal  sag  relieved  the  roof  of  all 
flat  and  hard  lines.  No  attempt  was  made  to  secure  perfect  regu- 

188 


TILED   ROOFS  FOR  MODERN  BUILDINGS 

larity  in  the  "lining  up"  of  the  tiles, — that  was  impossible,  they 
were  far  too  irregular  in  shape  and  thickness  to  permit  of  mechanical 
perfection  in  the  alignment.  The  modern  commercial  tiles  are  laid 
to  a  chalk  line  with  great  precision,  the  result  is  an  effect  which  is, 
comparatively  speaking,  monotonous  in  the  extreme. 

ONE  of  the  illustrations  shows  the  roof  of  a  large  bungalow 
laid  with  small  Mission  tiles,  and  incidentally  the  roof-line  of 
houses  beyond  with  the  mountains  in  the  distance.  The 
small  Mission  tiles  are  only  sixteen  inches  long,  with  a  spread  of  eight 
inches  at  the  wide  end,  as  compared  with  thirty-four  by  twelve. 
They  are  machine-made  and  devoid  of  the  human  interest  which 
attaches  to  the  old,  but  otherwise  they  are  fairly  good  in  shape  and 
color,  and  make  a  beautiful  roof.  It  is  not  every  building  that  will 
carry  the  old  tile,  but  they  would  be  exceedingly  handsome  on  the 
large  roof  of  this  particular  bungalow.  The  commercial  reproduc 
tions  of  the  large  Mission  tiles  are  not  very  successful.  They  are 
ugly  in  their  proportions,  thin,  and,  for  the  most  part,  more  or  less 
porous  and  defective. 

This  particular  roof  was  laid  twice.  The  tiles  first  used  were  poorly 
made,  poorly  baked  and  poorly  laid;  they  absorbed  water  like  a 
sponge,  and  dripped  like  an  oZ/o,  with  the  result  that,  after  four  or 
five  hours  of  heavy  rain,  countless  small  leaks  would  develop.  As 
the  tiles  rested  in  flimsy  building  paper,  and  this  on  ordinary  sheath 
ing  laid  lengthwise  of  the  roof  instead  of  from  ridge  to  eaves,  there 
was  nothing  in  the  foundation  to  turn  the  water  which  the  tiles  failed 
to  keep  out;  each  tile  was  nailed  so  the  paper  was  filled  with  holes 
to  begin  with. 

The  roof  as  relaid^was  first  made  tight  underneath.  A  specially 
cut  sheathing,  the  joints  of  which  would  turn  water,  was  used ;  on 
this  was  laid  an  asphalted  felt  of  almost  the  thickness  and  tough 
ness  of  sole  leather;  the  strips  ran  lengthwise,  and  the  over-Tap 
of  four  inches,  though  quite  sufficient  without  cement,  was  thor 
oughly  cemented ;  on  this  heavy  felt  the  tiles  were  laid  without  nail 
ing,  as  the  pitch  of  the  roof  was  so  low  that  nails  were  not  necessary; 
as  a  final  precaution,  the  over-laps  of  all  the  lower  tiles  were  joined 
with  an  oil  cement,  fifty  pounds  to  the  square  being  used.  As  the 
tiles  were  specially  burned  and  selected,  it  is  believed  that  the  roof 
is  trebly  tight,  that  the  tile,  the  asphalted  felt,  the  sheathing — each 
independently  of  the  other — will  turn  water,  while  the  three  are 
quite  impervious  to  heat  and  cold. 

189 


TILED   ROOFS  FOR   MODERN   BUILDINGS 

AT  PRESENT  there  is  a  slight  revival  of  interest  in  the  use 
of  the  old  tiles,  they  are  being  carefully  preserved,  but,  un 
happily,  the  new  buildings  on  which  they  are  used  seldom 
conform  in  design  and  construction  to  the  massive  irregularities  of 
the  tiles  and  the  results  are  not  satisfactory.  For  instance,  they  are 
exceedingly  ill-at-ease  in  their  painful  regularity  on  a  lightly  built 
building,  and  the  very  modern  red  brick  chimney  worries  them. 

Tile  is  the  normal  covering  for  the  adobe,  cement  or  plaster 
house,  providing,  of  course,  the  construction  of  the  walls  is  suffi 
ciently  massive  to  carry  the  heavy  roof, — to  carry  it  to  the  eye  as 
well  as  in  fact.  A  heavy  tile  roof  on  light  walls,  or  on  walls^the 
proportions  of  which  are  only  too  apparently  false  and  artificial, 
produces  a  sense  of  discomfort,  the  roof  sinks  in  the  estimation  in 
more  senses  than  one. 

Very  little  pains  have  been  taken  to  save  the  roofs  of  the  Cali 
fornia  Missions,  though  not  a  little  has  been  done  to  preserve  some 
of  the  walls  and  interiors.  In  many  instances  the  roofs  have  been 
sheathed  and  shingled,  a  very  matter-of-fact  and  inappropriate 
covering  for  walls  so  substantial.  In  some  places  the  tiles  and  shingles 
appear  side  by  side;  in  others  the  old  tiles  have  been  relaid  loosely 
over  shingles. 

While  the  old  Mission  tiles  make  picturesque  and  serviceable 
roofs  in  Southern  California,  they  would  not  serve  so  well  in  the 
colder  climates  of  the  north  and  east,  as  they  are  a  poor  protection 
against  snow.  From  time  immemorial  the  ingenuity  of  builders  has 
been  exercised  in  the  endeavor  to  lay  a  weather-proof  tile  roof  in 
a  cold  climate.  In  England  an  ancient  custom  prevailed  to  bed  the 
tiles  in  hay  or  moss,  "  when  the  roof  is  of  full  pitch  this  suffices  without 
mortar,  they  may  even  be  laid  dry.  But  with  any  less  pitch,  some 
precaution  must  be  used  to  keep  out  drifting  snow,  and  such  wet 
as  may  be  blown  up  between  the  tiles  lifted  by  the  force  of  the  wind. 
In  lieu  of  oak  pegs,  extra  large  flat-headed  wrought  nails,  made  of 
pure  zinc  or  of  zinc  and  copper  have  been  used." 

The  Japanese  method  of  laying  a  tiled  roof  is  described  by  Prof. 
Edward  F.  Morse  as  follows  'The  boarded  roof  is  first  roughly 
and  thinly  shingled,  and  upon  this  surface  is  then  spread  a  thick 
layer  of  mud  into  which  the  tiles  are  firmly  bedded.  The  mud  is 
scooped  up  from  some  ditch  or  moat,  and  is  also  got  from  the  canals. 
In  the  city  one  often  sees  the  men  getting  the  mud  for  this  purpose 
from  the  deep  gutters  which  border  many  of  the  streets.  This  is 
kneaded  and  worked  with  hoe  and  spade  till  it  acquires  the  con- 

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sistency  of  thick  dough.  In  conveying  this  mess  to  the  roof  no  hod 
is  used.  The  material  is  worked  into  large  lumps  by  the  laborer, 
and  these  are  tossed  one  after  another  to  a  man  who  stands  on  a 
staging  or  ladder,  who  in  turn  pitches  it  to  the  man  on  the  roof, 
or,  if  the  roof  be  high,  to  another  man  on  a  still  higher  staging. 
The  mud,  having  been  got  to  the  roof,  is  then  spread  over  it  in  a 
thick  and  even  layer.  Into  this  the  tiles  are  then  bedded,  row  after 
row.  There  seems  to  be  no  special  adhesion  of  the  tiles  to  this 
substratum  of  mud,  and  high  gales  often  cause  great  havoc  to  a  roof 
of  this  nature.  In  the  case  of  a  conflagration,  when  it  becomes 
necessary  to  tear  down  buildings  in  its  path,  the  firemen  appear  to 
have  no  difficulty  in  shovelling  the  tiles  off  a  roof  with  ease  and 
rapidity. 

"The  older  a  tile  is  the  better  it  is  considered  for  roofing  pur 
poses  .  .  .  Second-hand  tiles,  therefore,  are  always  in  greater 
demand.  A  new  tile,  being  very  porous  and  absorbent,  is  not  con 
sidered  so  good  as  one  in  which  tune  has  allowed  the  dust  and  dirt 
to  fill  the  minute  interstices,  thus  rendering  it  a  better  material  for 
shedding  water." 

IN  THE  effort  to  produce  tiles  which  will  "lay  tight"  and  in 
themselves  be  rain  and  snow  proof,  all  sorts  of  queer  and 
ugly  patterns  are  turned  out.  Most  of  these  "patented" 
tiles  are  half  baked  and  soft;  were  they  baked  properly  their  joints 
and  laps  would  not  meet,  as  their  inventors  intend.  They  depend 
for  their  color  upon  "slipping"  or  glazing.  Tiles  which  are  bold  and 
eautiful  in  form,  well  vitrified  and  fine  in  color  cannot  be  laid  tight. 
Dust,  rain  and  snow  proof  joints  are  impossible.  The  finer  and 
handsomer  the  tile,  the  greater  the  necessity  of  making  a  perfect 
foundation. 

The  almost  endless  varieties  of  flat,  "pan,"  inter-locking,  and 
"patented"  tiles  may  give  the  effect  of  color  at  a  distance,  but  color 
is  not  the  only  effect  to  be  sought  in  a  roof,  shape  is  equally  impor 
tant.  The  roof  is  the  hat  of  the  house,  and  the  shape  of  a  man's 
hat  is  quite  as  important  as  its  color. 

Whether  tile  can  be  used,  and  the  pattern,  depends  a  good  deal 
upon  the  pitch,  and  the  pitch  to  be  given  a  roof  depends  upon  three 
considerations,  climate,  materials  used,  and  effect  desired.  Gener 
ally  speaking,  the  warmer  the  climate,  the  flatter  the  roof.  In  a 
southern  climate,  a  steep  roof  is  simply  a  device  for  catching  and 
holding;  heat, — like  the  sloping  sides  of  a  hot-house. 

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TILED  ROOFS  FOR  MODERN   BUILDINGS 

A  number  of  years  ago  an  effort  was  made  by  a  French  publica 
tion  to  arrive  at  a  rule  for  the  pitch  of  roofs  based  upon  climatic 
conditions.  The  globe  between  the  equator  and  the  polar  circle  was 
divided  into  twenty-four  belts  or  bands  parallel  to  the  equator,  but 
of  unequal  size,  depending  upon  the  length  of  the  longest  day.  Allow 
ances  were  made  for  dryer  and  damper  climates,  and  for  the  shape 
of  the  tiles;  "in  the  roofs  of  the  continent  covered  with  the  hollow 
tile  (like  Mission  tile),  as  in  the  south  of  France,  for  instance,  less 
slope  is  required  than  with  the  Roman  tiles  which  are  in  sections 
alternately  flat  and  circular,  and  these  again  require  less  slope  than 
the  common  plain  tile  or  slate."  A  table  constructed  in  accordance 
with  the  theory  gives  the  following  variations  in  pitch  for  the  coun 
tries,  localities  and  materials  named 

LOCALITY  HOLLOW   TILES  PLAIN   TILES 

Southern  Spain — pitch 16  deg.   12  min.      24  deg.  12  min. 

Italy 18     "      12     "         26     "      12     " 

France 21     "  29     " 

Northern       "     24     "      36     "         32     "      36     " 

Germany 28     "      36     "         36     "      36     " 

England  (London) 27     "      24     "         35     "      24     " 

Scotland 33     "      12  42     "      12     " 

Sweden,    Russia    and    Norway 

(average) 30     "  49 

According  to  above  table  South 
ern  California  would  require 

about 17  26 

In  pitch,  the  Mission  roofs  varied  greatly.  The  variations  are 
as^numerous  as  the  structures  themselves.  No  rule  of  construction 
can  be  laid  down  which  would  not  be  compelled  to  admit  brilliant 
and  successful  exceptions.  The  good  builder  is  not  restricted  by 
arbitrary  considerations,  he  meets  conditions  as  he  finds  them  and 
builds  as  he  pleases ;  if  he  consider  only  the  needs  of  the  people  and 
the  exigencies  of  environment,  and  if  he  uses  only  the  materials  of 
the  vicinity,  he  cannot  go  far  astray. 


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